


so scandalously beautiful

by bread_boy



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Chaebol au, M/M, Or at least an attempt at both, subversion of the divorced couple concept
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27736090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bread_boy/pseuds/bread_boy
Summary: In which Seungmin holds Minho through the hurt and the heartache and the sheer irony of it all.
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 5
Kudos: 128





	so scandalously beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> *pitches tent in the 2min tag* i live here now
> 
> anyways this is just a short drabble to celebrate 2min's first dekira ep, and what better way than to include young k hyung, who was gracious enough to make our divorced couple as comfortable as possible :') also, this whole au may or may not have been inspired by those previews of 2min in their long coats looking expensive as hell
> 
> ps: title is from me in paradise by brenda shaughnessy. the full line reads _loving you has made me so scandalously beautiful_ which i think is just so lovely

When Seungmin is ushered out of the car by one of his bodyguards, he's already prepared for the sizable mob of reporters that immediately swarm up to him, his impassively cool appearance built from far too many years of being thrust into the limelight.

All sorts of questions are flung at him like bait, but Seungmin knows better than to address any of them, keeping his head low as he perseveres through the onslaught with four heavily clad men guarding him from all sides, refusing to blink against the blinding flashes of several cameras.

Even when they've managed to enter the building, Seungmin maintains his dignified, stoic composure, his steps brisk and measured as they make their way to the elevator. He pauses as the doors begin to part, fixing Changbin, his most trusted out of the four men, a look that has him nodding curtly in response.

"I'll take it from here, boys." Seungmin hears him say, his tone clipped with finality before he steps inside the brightly-lit booth, pressing the floor number and shutting the doors in a matter of seconds.

In the heavy silence, Seungmin allows himself a moment of respite, his shoulders sagging considerably, yet the hard lines on his face remain, reflected back at him by the mirrored walls of the elevator.

"You okay?" Changbin murmurs after a reluctant pause, his hands firmly clasped behind his back as he stares ahead. Though Seungmin would already consider him a friend, there are lines that must remain uncrossed, so his wary approach isn't at all surprising.

(That doesn't make it sting any less though, but Seungmin appreciates the sentiment all the same.)

For all the education he's pursued, foreign books he's read and affluent people he's spoken to, Seungmin comes up with blank in the face of this simple question. The realization that his vocabulary is filtered to only express the extent of his knowledge and not his emotions has him digging crescents into his palms. He'll allow himself to revisit these thoughts later, but now–

Now, as the bell dings for the 7th floor, there are more pressing matters he needs to attend to.

This time, Seungmin's steps are urgent and thunderous in the empty hallway, heels clicking a staccato against the marbled floor. Gone is the levelheaded composure he'd held throughout this morning, now replaced by a growing ache the nearer he draws to a door with the familiar name plate tacked on the pristine sandalwood.

_Kang Younghyun  
Legal Consultant_

Behind him, Changbin hesitates, yet it's already clear from the way Seungmin raps on the door that whatever is beyond this point is something he cannot be privy to. So with another nod (slower this time, eyes holding on to Seungmin's for a fraction longer) Changbin falls back, turning away to stand guard instead.

Just as Seungmin reaches out to twist the knob, he finds himself staring at a face he hasn't seen in a few good years. Evidently older, but Seungmin would recognize those rounded cheekbones and warm eyes anywhere.

"Hello, Seungmin." Younghyun says, his initial surprise replaced by the rather grim greeting. He's quick to step aside and usher Seungmin into the room, closing the door with a firm click.

Any response Seungmin might've had immediately fizzles at the sight he's met with– Minho, his lovely, darling husband, twisting in his seat across Younghyun's office table, what little sunlight streaming through the parted curtains streaking his face in hues of gold.

He'd already been expecting Minho here, and yet he finds himself steadily softening from the inside out as Minho flutters his long, long eyelashes and exhales, "Seungmin."

The emotions Seungmin had held at bay suddenly come rushing in like a tidal wave, threatening to capsize his every rational thought. He bears through it with a hard swallow, guided by Younghyun's gentle nudge as he walks towards the table and takes the seat opposite Minho instead.

He's barely given a chance to properly look at his husband for the first time in a week (but what feels like it had been stretched into an eternity) before Younghyun's reclaimed the swivel chair in front of them, a grave expression etched on his face. It's a rare sight, and immediately Seungmin decides that it doesn't suit him at all.

"You know, Seungmin," Younghyun starts, hands folded primly on smooth mahogany. "when I said we should catch up sometime, I didn't mean like this."

Beside him, Minho lowers his gaze, his crossed arms tightening imperceptibly, as if trying to keep himself from falling apart. The action is enough to have Seungmin moving on auto-pilot, grabbing one of Minho's hands before intertwining their fingers.

"Don't be mistaken, hyung," Seungmin says as he places their joined hands on the table. This in itself is a statement, but he drills the fact home further by continuing, "the thought of separating hasn't crossed my mind once."

The grave look on Younghyun's face immediately clears, obviously intrigued as he leans forward to survey them both. "Oh? Is it the same case for you then, Minho-sshi?"

Minho, who had been gazing openly at Seungmin with a new shine in his eyes, seems to withdraw from both the question and the scrutiny that came with it, but just as Seungmin decides to answer for the both of them, he responds, voice soft yet unwavering, "I'm sure you've heard of the news, Younghyun-sshi."

It's Seungmin's turn to glance at Minho, his heart clenching at how devastatingly beautiful he is against the sunlit backdrop, warm yellows cascading over his skin like a caress. Even when he is hurting, even at his most vulnerable, Lee Minho is still just as captivating as the first time Seungmin had laid his eyes on him.

"...yes. Yes, I did." comes Younghyun's response, his tone holding some degree of hesitance now that he's realized he's treading on uncharted waters. His eyes flick between Seungmin and Minho, then down to their hands still firmly clasped together. "Forgive me, but I still don't see what part I play here when both of you have obviously come to a decision– which I fully support, of course–"

"It's for them," Minho tilts his head towards the window, referring to the mob of reporters that are no doubt still prowling the area. "and for my family– if I can even call them that now."

Seungmin had been out of the country when Minho's world came crashing down, stuck in the middle of a conference to discuss matters of globalization and expansion. It had taken around the fourth ring (Minho rarely lets the call get past two) for Seungmin to excuse himself, already halfway out the door when Minho's sob pierces through the earpiece and right into Seungmin's heart.

Lee Minho, the only son and therefore next in line to take over LK Group, claimed as an illegitimate child by an anonymous source. Growing up in a world of endless intrigue and scandals have already prepared them for this, but ultimately it was the pictures that drove the final nail in the coffin, which was simply this: The very undeniable fact that Lee Dongho, his father, decades younger in the photos but already a married man, was spotted several times in public with a petite woman of slight build, her sharp eyes and crooked smile a distinct carbon copy of Minho's.

The whole thing was quickly swept under the rug before it could spill over into the general public's awareness, but by then anyone who needed to know about it already knew. An executive decision– or at least that's what they had claimed when the board unanimously decided to buy out Minho's shares, essentially kicking him to the curb, as if he weren't face-first in the mud already.

Seungmin had taken the first available flight back to Korea after Minho had cried for nearly an hour over the phone, barely consoled even by the gentle lull of Seungmin's words. In the end, when Minho's sobs had subsided into hiccups, then finally, into sniffles, he mumbled, voice gossamer-thin through the speakerphone, "Do you still want me, Seungmin? Will you still come home to me?"

A memory had gripped him along with the sudden ferocity Seungmin felt in that moment– the night they had first met, Seungmin feeling worn out and weary from attending yet another charity ball, pausing mid-sip of his Chardonnay when he made eye contact with a gorgeous man across the hall, tipping his glass at Seungmin before downing his drink, one corner of his pink-glossed lips quirked up in greeting.

Seungmin had thought himself delirious back then, so captivated by the man's presence it had him thinking nonsense, but deep down, unbeknownst to him, something tender had already taken root in his heart, curling in the hollowed center like it was always meant to be there.

Fast forward to over a year later and it's now in full bloom, its stems unyielding, petals flourishing a deep pink as he anchors Minho with the surety of his grip, the boundless affection in his eyes, his answer unchanging even in the eye of the storm they're both standing in now.

_Wherever you are is already home to me, Minho._

"This is just to appease both sides of the family." Seungmin supplies further, the words clearly leaving a bad taste in his mouth, yet he can't deny the situation for what it is and for what it entails to the family business too. He's already dodged calls from his siblings and family friends, but Seungmin knows he can't stall like this once it's his own father banging on the door and demanding answers.

Minho knows this too, which is why he continues from where Seungmin had left off. "The plan is to pretend that we're considering divorce, just until this all dies down."

From the moment Seungmin had gone down on one knee and asked for Minho's hand in marriage under a tapestry of stars after renting out Seoul's highest skyscraper, he knew with perfect clarity that he was never going to let this man go. That the earth could shatter beneath their feet and the world could crumble before their very eyes, but just as long as they're together, Seungmin believed there will always be a future for them.

"I already have people trailing after whoever's behind this." Seungmin says, his eyes back on Minho this time. He'd spent the entire flight making calls and negotiating prices, deals, promises– whatever it would take to finally end this hell– too caught up in the whirlwind to actually tell him.

But Seungmin figures he doesn't need to worry too much, not when Minho's eyes begin to sparkle and mist over, his gratitude pouring out in one stuttered breath.

"We made a promise to each other that day, didn't we?" Seungmin counters the smothered _Thank you_ right away, eyes darting across Minho's face, piecing together yet another memory, this time tracing back to their wedding day. White suits and flowers and laughter and music and love, so much of it it could spill over the open garden where they'd held the ceremony, coating everything a lovely pink the exact shade of Minho's cheeks, his ears, the back of his neck.

Minho seems to remember just as clearly, comforted by the emotions it draws out of him, the words familiar from the many times they've been uttered across history, and yet, it's the unfaltering assurance behind it that quiets the noise in his mind, stems the bleeding from his heart.

_To have and to hold–_

_For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer–_

_Until death do us part._

Outside, the sky clears until the afternoon sun shines in complete magnificence once again, its light unyielding even through the curtains, streaming in in in until it catches the golden bands around both of their fingers, still twined together, just as unshakable.

This is just the beginning, but as Seungmin gazes at Minho with all the love one human being could possibly hold for another, he knows exactly how it's going to end.

Wherever Minho is, until death and even beyond it.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, thanks for reading!
> 
> ps: feel free to follow me on [twt](https://twitter.com/ttubinni); i desperately need more 2minners on my tl


End file.
